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Checking in for flight back to Sydney with Cathay Pacific and on to Auckland with Qantas – and now Cathay have very helpfully offerred a seat on the direct flight to Auckland – arriving 7 hours earlier which is a great way to finish the travels. Fourteen flights in the whole safari become thirteen

Afternoon went on a desert safari – turned out to be 45 4WDs from the company met in the desert – our driver a Pakistani been in Dubai for 30 years was intent on giving maximum thrills – was an excellent experience – defintely exciting and not for the faint hearted. Some people tried boarding down the sand slope and others of us had a brief camel ride, then a decent BBQ dinner and bellydancing show. Overall was a great experience – clearly Dubai needs more than one day to do it justice! Never got to the beach, the waterfront developments or the malls – last on my list anyway…

To be fair the new Emirates terminal is very impressive – the check in hall was huge and no queues – the whole process was very quick even though I was finding my way – kiosk terminal to print boarding pass – no queue at bag drop – no queue at immigration or security – maybe 20 mins at most to get from entry to airside, and there were lots of flights going in a short space of time. Had an airbridge to flight this time – the first time in 4 landings/takeoffs. Overall I am impressed by the new Dubai airport and Emirates as an airline. Bound now for Hong Kong.

The project we were evaluating is based in Manzese (a large informal urban slum area in Dar es Salaam) – the focus of the work has been establishing a day care centre where children with disabilites are cared for and supported 6 hours per day Mon – Fri providing relief for the mothers. Many men leave their wives when a child is found to have a disability so mothers are left to care alone. There were one or two fathers also involved.  As well as providing support, physio excercises, skills and information the day care also provides time when mothers can be supported to develop income producing skills

So the week involved:

• meeting all the key staff at Monday morning meeting
• visiting the Manzese Day Care Centre and the mothers support group
• visiting and talking with the local school principal where the day care is located, another school where 2 children with disabilities are mainstreamed, and another school where there are 4 classrooms for deaf children integrated with the school – typical classrooms have 100 children – the classrooms for the deaf had about 20 and the children had made great progress
• talked to the Manzese local authority exec office and committee who are supporting the initiative
• visited another similar but different day care in another urban slum area funded by EU
• visited the very impressive Mibinti Centre run by the CEO’s wife where woman who have had vaginal vesticular surgery (to cure fistula problems (incontinence), which can occur after prolonged or difficult childbirth attend for up to 18 months training to develop income producing skills making a range of quality handcrafts
• the programme was arranged very thoughtfully so that field visits took place in the mornings so that the afternoon when it gets very hot we were involved in discussion, debriefing and report writing in the office

All in all CCBRT is a very impressive and professional organisation. The Manzese project although it had a slow start was now at a very encouraging point and going well – the day centre building which had undergone major refurbishment was a practical and welcoming environment. We were able to discuss and consider with the CCBRT staff the challenges and issues to be addressed for the next stages.

The week ended with an invitation on Friday evening to join the CEO and other staff at a reception hosted by KLM airline celebrating 90 years, and to give a modest donation to CCBRT. The reception was in the most upmarket hotel in town on the top floor overlooing Dar port and harbour – drinks and food and embassy and diplomatic staff and whos who of expats. Very interesting other side of life to Manzese.

Saturday a quiet morning and to airport in afternoon – got a lift with another aid agency – traffic was very heavy so we ended up taking some “short cuts” and driving “high speed” through slum roads – an interesting experience!! Skilfull driver thankfully. Flight to Dubai on the way home.

Then, a visit at Nimes to the best preserved of all the remaining (200) Roman arena. One of the 20 largest – seating 24,000, the outer facade 21m high and inside 2 huge tiers with 60 arcades. I was much amused by the name of the many exits and passageway areas called vomitories – designed to keep the plebs from mixing with the patricians! I could imagine what else occurred there maybe. Listened to an audioguide on a self-paced tour of the arena – very impressive – could not listen to all the info unless you stayed ½ day at least! Also static displays of costume and equipment and videos of the action! The arena is still used for events, which is incredible – would be deemed a health and safety hazard in NZ I’m sure – no handrails on very high steep levels, very slippery uneven marble slabs, trip dangers etc – no doubt we would have to sign up prior to entry and to being responsible for undertaking a hazardous visit in NZ! However, great to see this and imagine the torrid spectacles of the past.

Staying for the next 2 nights near Avingnon.

We’ve now had 3 days to recover from jetlag – we are both back at work. And the weather has deteriorated – it is wet and cold but it is winter after all.

It’s nice to be home, to see everyone again and to be in the same bed for more than a couple of nights. It was a great trip – lots of sights, fun, family days and new experiences and….lots more to see next time!

Mark is nearly organised, still got a few things on his ” to do list” (he did have more than me to start with) and also has a little work to finish off.

The housesitters (the A team- Andrew and Adelle) have had their final instructions and their long term tenancy is dependent on good behaviour while we are away. The sand party will not be occurring contrary to popular belief.